Americans Are 20 Pounds Heavier Today Than Two Decades Ago: Report

Americans are reporting that they weigh, on average, about 20 pounds more than they did 20 years ago, according to a new report from Gallup.

The findings, based on the annual Gallup Health and Healthcare Survey, show that men are reporting they weigh 196 pounds on average and women are reporting they weigh 160 pounds on average, up nearly 20 pounds from self-reported weights in 1990.

In addition, our "ideal weight" has also increased -- for men, it is now 181 pounds (up from 177 pounds a decade ago), and for women, it is now 138 pounds (up from 137 a decade ago), according to the report.

The findings also indicate that most Americans consider their weight as "just-right" -- despite a previous Gallup report showing that 61.6 percent of people in the U.S. are overweight or obese. In that previous Gallup report, published last month, researchers found that obesity rates were slightly decreasing for most U.S. demographic groups, although there are still fewer normal weight people in the U.S. than there are obese and/or overweight people.

"At the rate we're looking at right now, it's a dire prediction," study researcher Claire Wang, of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, told ABC News. "Something has to be done."

For a look at the obesity of certain demographics in the U.S. based on the October Gallup report, click through this slideshow:

Close



obese demographics

of





Black people are still the demographic with the highest incidence of obesity, with 35.4 percent obese so far this year. However, the incidence of obesity has decreased from last year, going down 0.6 percent. In 2008, 35.1 percent of these people were obese.

Among people ages 45 to 64, 30.7 percent are obese so far this year. This group has also seen a (very) slight decrease in obesity, though, going down by 0.2 percent. In 2008, 29.5 percent of these people were obese.

Among people in this income group, 30.3 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity has decreased by 0.8 percent from last year, by 0.8 percent. In 2008, 30 percent of these people were obese.

Among people ages 30 to 44, 27.9 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity has decreased by 0.2 percent from last year. In 2008, 27 percent of these people were obese.

Among men, 27.7 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity among men has decreased by 0.4 percent from last year. In 2008, 27 percent of men were obese.

Among Hispanic people, 27.4 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity among Hispanics has decreased by 0.8 percent from last year. In 2008, 27.4 percent of Hispanics were obese.

Among people in this income group, 25.8 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity among this income group has decreased by 1 percent from last year. In 2008, 25.8 percent of this group was obese.

Among white people, 24.8 percent are obese so far this year. Obesity among this income group decreased by 0.6 percent from last year. In 2008, 24.2 percent of white people were obese.

People ages 65 and older actually haven't experienced any increase or decrease in obesity so far this year. In 2008, 23.4 percent of this age group was obese.

Women and elderly people have the same incidence of obesity, according to the poll, with 24.6 percent of them obese. However, women have slimmed down just slightly from last year, with a 0.5 percent decrease in obesity. In 2008, 23.9 percent of women were obese.

So far this year, 21 percent of people who make more than $90,000 a year are obese, which is a decrease of 0.6 percent from last year. In 2008, 21.1 percent of this group were obese.

So far this year, 17.5 percent of younger adults are obese, a 0.5 decrease from last year. The percentage of obese adults in this age group is about the same as in 2008, when it was 17.4 percent.

Asians have the lowest incidence of obesity among the demographics surveyed by Gallup, but they are also the only demographic to experience an increase in obesity from last year. Obesity increased by 3.3 percent from last year; the percentage of Asian people who were obese in 2008 was 8.6 percent.